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The Zsolnay factory was established in 1853 in Hungary by Miklos Zsolnay. His early efforts were to develop utility products, but the high-heat firing he used with the local clay lead to architectural ornaments that would weather the harsh conditions of the Northern European winter. The Zsolnay porcelain products were recognized at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna with a grand prize. These ornaments for the outside of buildings are still made today, from the same clay and using the same firing technique.

While experimenting with glazes in 1896, Zsolnay developed one named eosin, which became his other claim to fame. Although the company makes pottery in the usual multi-glaze, decorative styles for decorating the interiors of buildings, especially homes, the vases and animals with the eosin glaze are very different. The shapes are smoothly and gently modeled, just suggesting the subject, if there is one, of the piece. The iridescent, rich color of the glaze brings out the best in the simple shapes to which it is added. Rich red, deep blues and greens, the Zsolnay eosin glaze is so beautiful that it can be put on a completely plain vase and make that vase an object of luxury.

Zsolnay ceramics are available in the US and the prices on the eosin animals are reasonable. Getting one of the architectural items might be more difficult, but as the eosin is the Zsolnay porcelain claim to fame, something covered with this glaze is a better choice by the porcelain collector anyway.

The Zsolnay factory was established in 1853 by Miklós Zsolnay. The products from this company were recognized for their quality at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna, when the jury praised the Zsolnay products as unique and awarded the Grand Prix to the company. In 1896, Zsolnay created one of its most famous glazes, called eosin, which provides an overall color to the glazed piece with the addition of an iridized finish. Zsolnay also adopted the Art Nouveau style at the end of the Nineteenth Century in order to keep up with the times. The company technique of high temperature firing remains unique even today, and this process makes the architectural ceramics the company makes impervious to the weather.

In spite of two world wars, the Zsolnay Porcelain Factory holds on to its great traditions, while at the same time stressing the importance of a continuous renewal. The company continues to produce eosin figurines and decorative ceramic accent pieces. Since the 1950s, the Zsolnay factory has invited modern designers to try new styles, and to revive the use of older forms and glazes. In addition, visiting artists revitalized the production of the architectural ceramics for which the company is known.

The Zsolnay eosin glaze comes in several strong, deep colors, including red, green and blue. There are even ceramics using two or more colors of eosin on one piece, which makes them quite colorful when you add in the iridescent finish. The firing process is complicated, but also provides each piece with a unique glaze result and finish. Many of the forms glazed with the eosin glaze are simply modeled and show the glaze off beautifully.

The technical practices used at Zsolnay created frost-proof architectural ornaments that were, and still are, in demand in Hungary and Northern Europe. The architectural embellishments are still produced from the local clay and with the original techniques that made the resulting ceramics stand out when first produced. Ornaments from the earliest production are still in place today.

The Zsolnay ceramics products include regular china dinnerware in the style of Europe and North America, as well as porcelain decorative items, like vases and decorative plates produced in normal glazes. But the highlight of the Zsolnay production is the eosin figurines.